Orthodontic treatment simulation having improved graphics processing for virtual modeling

ABSTRACT

According to embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a server can include processing circuitry configured to receive a virtual modeling file encoded with an orthodontic treatment plan such that the encoded information of the virtual modeling file format allows all steps of the orthodontic treatment plan to be displayed without a separate file for each treatment step. Additionally, the processing circuitry can be configured to download a first treatment step of the virtual modeling file format, receive gingiva and teeth geometries corresponding to the first treatment step, and display the first treatment step. Further, a selected treatment step can be displayed based on information encoded into the orthodontic virtual modeling file format.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/624,123, filed Jun. 15, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/352,844, filed Jun. 21, 2016.

BACKGROUND

With the emergence of computer-based, virtual modeling, virtual realityand 3D/4D imaging technology, orthodontists can model patients' teeth indetail to arrive at a treatment plan or diagnosis. For example, anorthodontist can use virtual modeling to display individual treatmentsteps of a treatment plan, each step stored and rendered in a separate3D file.

SUMMARY

The foregoing paragraphs have been provided by way of generalintroduction, and are not intended to limit the scope of the followingclaims. The described embodiments, together with further advantages,will be best understood by reference to the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

According to embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a server caninclude processing circuitry configured to receive a virtual modelingfile encoded with an orthodontic treatment plan such that the encodedinformation of the virtual model file format allows all steps of theorthodontic treatment plan to be displayed without a separate virtualmodeling file for each treatment step. Additionally, the processingcircuitry can be configured to download a first treatment step of thevirtual modeling file format, receive gingiva and teeth geometriescorresponding to the first treatment step, and display the firsttreatment step. Further, a selected treatment step can be displayedbased on information encoded into the orthodontic virtual modeling fileformat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary network topology of a system for anorthodontics virtual modeling file format according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 2 depicts an orthodontics virtual modeling file format workflowaccording to one or more aspects of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of the information encoded in the virtualmodeling file format for a first treatment step according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of the information encoded in the virtualmodeling file format for a selected treatment step according to one ormore embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 5 is an algorithmic flow chart of displaying an orthodontictreatment plan using an orthodontic virtual modeling file formataccording to one or more embodiments of the disclosed subject matter;and

FIG. 6 is a hardware block diagram of a server according to one or moreexemplary aspects of the disclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description set forth below in connection with the appended drawingsis intended as a description of various embodiments of the disclosedsubject matter and is not necessarily intended to represent the onlyembodiment(s). In certain instances, the description includes specificdetails for the purpose of providing an understanding of the disclosedsubject matter. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Insome instances, well-known structures and components may be shown inblock diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of thedisclosed subject matter.

An advantage of the orthodontics virtual modeling file format can bemore precisely determining where the teeth will be over time withoutrequiring extra storage space for individual files of each treatmentstep. Previously, a stand-alone 3D image had to be displayed whenviewing a predetermined treatment step. The improved virtual modelingfile format, however, is much more flexible and can step through time insmaller intervals without requiring any stand-alone 3D images to havebeen previously created and then displayed.

Rather than creating several stand-alone 3D images, the orthodonticsvirtual modeling file format can store original tooth shape and positionas well as movement data for the teeth, thereby allowing the virtuallymodeled image to be adaptively displayed by calculating tooth positionin real-time using transformation matrices. The position of each toothcan quickly and easily be determined relative to the original toothposition using the transformation matrices. Because the transformationmatrices are encoded in the virtual modeling file format, the treatmentstep can be displayed using information from the virtual modeling filewithout having to create an additional virtual modeling file fordisplaying the selected treatment step.

The virtual modeling file format can also store key gingiva informationto render the gingiva realistically rather than just filling a gap madeby a tooth being moved.

Another advantage can be to host the virtual modeling file directly on awebpage (e.g., WebGL for 3D). A single virtual modeling file to displayan entire treatment plan can minimize download and rendering timebecause after downloaded, the rest of the image can be quickly renderedwith the information encoded into the virtual modeling file format. Inother words, a lag time of rendering additional treatments steps hasbeen removed. Previously, each of the treatment steps corresponding totwo weeks, four weeks, six weeks, etc. were an independent or separatefile that could require a significant amount of storage space (e.g., 2megabytes each) which can quickly add up to a large file when showing afull treatment plan.

The virtual modeling file format includes a log of movement data thatcan determine how to move the patient's teeth when rendering it on thedoctor's computer, for example, which results in less data needing to bestored compared to an individual file to display a 3D image for eachtreatment step. For example, if a tooth was rotated counter-clockwise by2 degrees and that represents the new location of the tooth, thatinformation can be stored in the virtual modeling file format andaccessed when needing to display it rather than having a separate 3Dfile for each treatment step that contains all the positions of theteeth in each file. Once the movement data is provided, the software canmove each tooth to where it should be based on a selected treatment stepfrom the orthodontic treatment plan.

Additionally, when a tooth is moved, the gingiva is also affected. Thegingiva can be redrawn so that they look correct and realistic. If atooth is moved and nothing is done with the gingiva then there may be abig gap. For example, if the tooth has been moved back a millimeter thenthere is a millimeter groove in between the gingiva line and the tooth.The gingiva can then be redrawn by approximating where the gingiva wouldbe based on the current gingiva location using its existing data. Theamount of data required to redraw the gingiva entirely can be asignificant amount of data which can be stored on a server or in adatabase, for example. Not all of the gingiva data can be stored in thevirtual modeling file format because all of the data can't betransmitted efficiently and/or quickly. Included in the virtual modelingfile downloaded on the doctor's computer can be key pieces ofinformation corresponding to information about the gingiva. Oncedownloaded, JavaScript can be run locally on a computer, for example, toestimate where the gingiva should be. All the gingiva data could be upto 50 to 100 megabytes, for example, which would have to be downloaded.However, because only key pieces of information are delivered, thesimulation can easily be run on the doctor's computer. Therefore, fasterdownload and virtual model rendering on the doctor's station results incheap computer power and can be faster because it's done locally on thedoctor's computer. The gingiva data received from the server can belimited to strategically selected information, rather than receiving allthe information corresponding to exactly what the gingiva would looklike because that may be too much data to download efficiently andquickly. For example, strategically predetermined gingiva information(e.g., curve of the gingiva) can be accessed from the server and thesoftware can fill in the gaps in information to draw the new gingiva.The gingiva drawing algorithm does not simply fill in the grooveremaining from a moved tooth. Alternatively, the position of the currentgingiva is understood and is used to provide an intelligent predictionof where the gingiva may be after the tooth is moved.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1depicts an orthodontics virtual modeling system (herein referred to assystem 100) according to one or more embodiments of the disclosedsubject matter. The system 100 can include a computer 115 connected to amobile device 105, a server 110, and a database 120 via a network 130.The mobile device 105 can include a smart phone, a laptop, a PDA, atablet, and the like. The mobile device 105 can represent one or moremobile devices connected to the server 110, the computer 115, and thedatabase 120 via the network 130. The server 110 can represent one ormore servers connected to the mobile device 105, the computer 115, andthe database 120 via the network 130. The computer 115 can represent oneor more computers connected to the mobile device 105, the server 110,and the database 120 via the network 130. The database 120 can representone or more databases connected to the mobile device 105, the server110, and the computer 115 via the network 130. The network 130 canrepresent one or more networks connecting the mobile device 105, theserver 110, the computer 115, and the database 120.

The network 130 can be a public network, such as the Internet, or aprivate network such as a LAN or WAN network, or any combination thereofand can also include PSTN or ISDN sub-networks. The network 130 can alsobe wired, such as an Ethernet network, or can be wireless such as acellular network including EDGE, 3G and 4G wireless cellular systems.The wireless network can also be Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or any other wirelessform of communication that is known.

The computer 115 can include an interface, such as a keyboard and/ormouse, allowing a user to interact with treatment steps corresponding topositions of a patient's teeth, for example, throughout a predeterminedamount of time in which the patient's teeth move from a startingposition to an ending position, for example. The position and movementof the patient's teeth can be virtually modeled (e.g., modeled in 3D)and displayed via the interface of the computer 115 via WebGL, forexample.

The database 120 can store various information including patient dataand corresponding virtual modeling files. The virtual modeling files canbe encoded in a virtual modeling file format to store tooth shape, toothposition, tooth movement data, predetermined strategic gingivainformation, and the like as further described herein. The gingivainformation can be stored in the database 120. The database 120 can belocal to the mobile device 105, the server 110, or the computer 115.Additionally, the database 120 can be an external database.

In one aspect, the server 110 can receive signals from the computer 115and/or the mobile device 105 to cause the server 110 to transmitrequested information (e.g., gingiva information such that a patient'sgingiva can be rendered realistically after teeth movement) from theserver 110 and/or database 120 to the computer 115 and/or mobile device105. In another aspect, the server 110 can be a device that houses aprocessor including a computer (e.g., the computer 115), a laptop orsmart phone (e.g., the mobile device 105), and the like such that theprocessing can be done locally.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary workflow according to one or more aspects ofthe invention. The work flow can include an encoding section 235, loadthe virtual modeling file 225, and display a treatment step 230. Theencoding section 235 can include steps to develop an orthodontictreatment plan 205, divide the orthodontic treatment plan into sections210 for each step of the treatment, each treatment step can be dividedinto arch sections 215 including a maxillary arch section and amandibular arch section, and each arch can include gingiva and toothsub-sections 220.

In section 205, the 3D file format includes a treatment plan fororthodontic treatment for an individual patient from the beginning ofthe treatment through the end of the treatment. As the treatment plancan be divided into sections 210 for each step of the treatment, eachsection can correspond to a time-step. For example, the first section(or time-step) can be equivalent to time zero, as in no treatment hasbeen given, which can correspond to the original arch, teeth, andgingiva positions and shapes. Then the second, third, and fourth sectioncan correspond to two weeks, four weeks, and six weeks, respectively.The time-step for each section can correspond to any amount of timebased on the treatment plan, and the number of sections can be anynumber of sections based on the treatment plan.

In arch section 215 of the workflow, each treatment step can be dividedinto two sections of a maxillary arch section and a mandibular archsection. The maxillary arch and the mandibular arch are the archesformed by the teeth of the maxilla and the mandible, respectively. Themaxillary arch section includes transformation information that can beused to align the maxillary arch on top of the mandibular arch.Additionally, for gingiva and tooth sub-sections 220, the maxillary archsection and the mandibular arch section includes sub-sections for thegingiva and for each tooth in the corresponding arch.

Next, loading the virtual modeling file in 225 can include reading thevirtual modeling file to receive the encoded information of the virtualmodeling file format. During the load operation, the informationcorresponding to the first section of the treatment plan (i.e., originalshape and position of gingiva and teeth) is downloaded, the virtualmodeling geometry information for the gingiva and teeth of each arch isread from the first section and loaded into memory (e.g., database 120and/or local memory) of one or more of the mobile device 105, the server110, and the computer 115.

The display a treatment step 230 includes displaying the gingiva andteeth in a shape and position corresponding to the selected treatmentstep. Before displaying the virtually modeled shapes of teeth,transformation matrices are passed to a renderer (e.g., WebGL for 3Drendering) and geometries of each tooth are displayed aftertransformation. The transformation of the gingiva can be manuallyapplied to the gingiva geometry on affected vertices of the gingivausing transformation vectors loaded from the virtual modeling file. Theupdated gingiva geometry can be passed to the virtual modeling rendererfor display. When the first treatment step is selected for display, notransformation will be applied to the teeth or gingiva and the originalnon-transformed geometries can be rendered. Additionally, when anothertreatment step is selected for display, transformation information ofthe previously loaded steps may be cached and kept in memory, if memoryspace allows, for faster transition between when selecting thosepreviously selected and displayed treatment steps.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of the information encoded in the virtualmodeling file format for a first treatment step 305 according to one ormore embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. The virtual modelingfile format includes each step of the orthodontic treatment plan. In oneaspect, the first treatment step 305 can include a maxillary arch 310and a mandibular arch 340. The maxillary arch 310 can include amaxillary arch transformation matrix 315, maxillary gingiva 320, a firstmaxillary tooth 325, a second maxillary tooth 330, and an n^(th)maxillary tooth 335 where the n^(th) maxillary tooth 335 represents apredetermined number of teeth and corresponding data within themaxillary arch 310 based on the patient. The maxillary archtransformation matrix 315 can be used to align the maxillary arch 310 ontop of a mandibular arch 340 when displayed.

In the first treatment step 305, the maxillary gingiva 320 can includegeometry information, where geometry information can be the shape of themaxillary gingiva 320. Transformation information is not needed in thefirst treatment step 305 because the first treatment step 305 cancorrespond to the original shape and position of the gingiva and eachtooth in the maxillary arch. The first maxillary tooth 325, the secondmaxillary tooth 330, and all other maxillary teeth associated with themaxillary arch 310 include geometry information, where geometryinformation of the maxillary teeth can be shape and position. Themaxillary gingiva 320 and maxillary teeth do not need transformationinformation for the first treatment step 305 because the maxillary teethin the first treatment step 305 can be displayed in their original shapeand position.

The mandibular arch 340 can include a mandibular gingiva 350, a firstmandibular tooth 355, a second mandibular tooth 360, and an n^(th)mandibular tooth 365 where the n^(th) mandibular tooth 365 represents apredetermined number of teeth and corresponding data within themandibular arch 340 based on the patient.

In the first treatment step 305, the mandibular gingiva 350 can includegeometry information where the geometry information can be the shape ofthe mandibular gingiva 350. The first mandibular tooth 355, the secondmandibular tooth 360, and all other mandibular teeth associated with themandibular arch 340 include geometry information, where geometryinformation of the mandibular teeth can be shape and position. Themandibular gingiva 350 and mandibular teeth do not need transformationinformation for the first treatment step 305 because the mandibularteeth in the first treatment step 305 can be displayed in their originalshape and position.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of the information encoded in the virtualmodeling file format for a selected treatment step 405 according to oneor more embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. The selectedtreatment step 405 can represent each treatment step of the treatmentplan other than the first treatment step 305. As the selected step 405can be part of the same treatment plan for a patient, the maxillary arch310 and the mandibular arch 340 can be included in the selectedtreatment step 405 and can be the same arches used in the firsttreatment step 305. The maxillary arch 310 can include the maxillaryarch transformation matrix 315 which can be the same maxillary archtransformation matrix 315 from the first treatment step 305 because thetreatment plan is for the same patient. Additionally, the maxillary arch310 can include maxillary gingiva 420, a first maxillary tooth 425, asecond maxillary tooth 430, and an n^(th) maxillary tooth 435 where then^(th) maxillary tooth 435 represents a predetermined number of teethand corresponding data within the maxillary arch 310 based on thepatient. The maxillary arch transformation matrix 315 can be used toalign the maxillary arch 310 on top of the mandibular arch 340 whendisplayed.

In the selected treatment step 405, the maxillary gingiva 420 caninclude transformation vectors, where the transformation vectors can bea list of 3D vectors, for example, to determine the shape of themaxillary gingiva 420 such that the number of 3D vectors is proportionalto the number of vertices in the gingiva. The first maxillary tooth 425,the second maxillary tooth 430, and any other maxillary teeth associatedwith the maxillary arch 310 in the selected treatment step 405 caninclude a transformation matrix which defines the movement of the teethin each selected treatment step 405 using a 4×4 matrix of 16-bit floatnumbers.

The mandibular arch 340 can include a mandibular gingiva 450, a firstmandibular tooth 455, a second mandibular tooth 460, and an n^(th)mandibular tooth 365 where the n^(th) mandibular tooth 365 represents apredetermined number of teeth and corresponding data within themandibular arch 340 based on the patient.

In the selected treatment step 405, the mandibular gingiva 450 caninclude transformation vectors, where the transformation vectors can bea list of 3D vectors, for example, to determine the shape of themandibular gingiva 450 such that the number of 3D vectors isproportional to the number of vertices in the gingiva. The firstmandibular tooth 455, the second mandibular tooth 460, and all othermandibular teeth associated with the mandibular arch 340 in the selectedtreatment step 405 can include a transformation matrix which defines themovement of the teeth in each selected treatment step 405 using a 4×4matrix of 16-bit float numbers.

FIG. 5 is an algorithmic flow chart of displaying an orthodontictreatment plan using an orthodontic virtual modeling file formataccording to one or more embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.

In S505, a first treatment step of the virtual modeling file can bedownloaded. The first treatment step downloaded in S505 can include theinformation corresponding to the first treatment step encoded in thevirtual modeling file as depicted in FIG. 3.

In S510, the gingiva and teeth geometries corresponding to the firsttreatment step 305 can be received. S505 and S510 can be included in theload virtual modeling file 225 section of the workflow in FIG. 2.

In S515, a treatment step can be selected for display.

In S520, it can be determined if the selected treatment step for displayfrom S515 is the first treatment step 305. If the selected treatmentstep 405 from S515 is not the first treatment step 305, then theselected treatment step 405 of the virtual modeling file can bedownloaded in S530. However, if the requested treatment step from S515is the first treatment step 305, then the original gingiva and teethgeometries can be displayed in S525.

In S525, displaying the original gingiva and teeth geometries caninclude displaying the original gingiva and teeth geometries of themandibular arch 340, applying the maxillary arch transformation matrix315, and displaying the original gingiva and teeth geometries of themaxillary arch 340. Once the original gingiva and teeth geometries havebeen displayed in S525, the process can return to S520 to determine ifthe selected treatment step 405 is the first treatment step 305.

In S530, the selected treatment step 405 of the virtual modeling filecan be downloaded.

In S535, teeth transformation matrices and gingiva transformationvectors corresponding to the selected treatment step 405 can bereceived.

In S540, a transformation matrix of an arch can be applied on a virtualmodeling renderer. S540 can be optional as the transformation matrix(i.e., maxillary arch transformation matrix) of the arch is only appliedwhen the arch is the maxillary arch 310.

In S545, a transformation matrix for each tooth on the correspondingarch can be applied on the virtual modeling renderer.

In S550, current gingiva geometry of the selected treatment step 405 canbe converted to the original gingiva shape of the first treatment step305.

In S555, transformation vectors of the selected step 405 can be appliedto the gingiva geometry of the first treatment step 305.

In S560, the tooth and gingiva corresponding to the selected treatmentstep 405 based on the movement of each tooth and shape of the gingivafrom the transformation matrices and transformation vectors,respectively, can be displayed as a virtually modeled figure, such as a3D virtual model, for example.

S515 through S560 can be included in the display a selected treatmentstep 230 from the workflow depicted in FIG. 2.

It should be noted that the steps discussed above with respect to FIG. 5do not have to be performed in that particular order. Various stepscould be reversed, performed independently, performed in various orders,or performed simultaneously.

Next, a hardware description of the server 110 according to exemplaryembodiments is described with reference to FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, the server110 includes a CPU 600 which performs the processes describedabove/below. The process data and instructions may be stored in memory602. These processes and instructions may also be stored on a storagemedium disk 604 such as a hard drive (HDD) or portable storage medium ormay be stored remotely. Further, the claimed advancements are notlimited by the form of the computer-readable media on which theinstructions of the inventive process are stored. For example, theinstructions may be stored on CDs, DVDs, in FLASH memory, RAM, ROM,PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, hard disk or any other information processingdevice with which the server 110 communicates, such as a server orcomputer.

The functions and features described herein may also be executed byvarious distributed components of a system. For example, one or moreprocessors may execute these system functions, wherein the processorsare distributed across multiple components communicating in a network.The distributed components may include one or more client and servermachines, which may share processing, in addition to various humaninterface and communication devices (e.g., display monitors, smartphones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs)). The network may bea private network, such as a LAN or WAN, or may be a public network,such as the Internet. Input to the system may be received via directuser input and received remotely either in real-time or as a batchprocess. Additionally, some implementations may be performed on modulesor hardware not identical to those described. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope that may be claimed.

The above-described hardware description is a non-limiting example ofcorresponding structure for performing the functionality describedherein.

Having now described embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, itshould be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing ismerely illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way ofexample only. Thus, although particular configurations have beendiscussed herein, other configurations can also be employed. Numerousmodifications and other embodiments (e.g., combinations, rearrangements,etc.) are enabled by the present disclosure and are within the scope ofone of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling withinthe scope of the disclosed subject matter and any equivalents thereto.Features of the disclosed embodiments can be combined, rearranged,omitted, etc., within the scope of the invention to produce additionalembodiments. Furthermore, certain features may sometimes be used toadvantage without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly,Applicant(s) intend(s) to embrace all such alternatives, modifications,equivalents, and variations that are within the spirit and scope of thedisclosed subject matter.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An orthodontics virtual modeling system formodeling teeth of a patient, comprising: a server including processingcircuitry configured to receive a virtual modeling file including anorthodontic treatment plan such that the virtual modeling file providesfor display of all of a plurality of treatment steps of the orthodontictreatment plan to be displayed; receive one or more data sections of afirst treatment step of the plurality of treatment steps of the virtualmodeling file; access gingiva geometries and teeth geometries from theone or more data sections of the first treatment step; receive one ormore data sections of an interim treatment step of the plurality oftreatment steps of the virtual modeling file, wherein the interimtreatment step is different than the first treatment step; access teethtransformation matrices and a plurality of gingiva transformationvectors for the interim treatment step from the one or more datasections of the interim treatment step, wherein the one or more datasections for each of the plurality of treatment steps include arespective plurality of gingiva transformation vectors, and theplurality of gingiva transformation vectors include a set of 3D vectorsdefining a shape of the respective gingiva according to the interimtreatment step, wherein a number of vectors in the set of 3D vectors isproportional to a number of vertices in the gingiva geometries; applythe teeth transformation matrices to the teeth geometries to obtaininterim teeth geometries corresponding to the interim treatment step;apply the gingiva transformation vectors to the gingiva geometries toobtain interim gingiva geometries corresponding to the interim treatmentstep; and display the interim treatment step based on rendering theinterim gingiva geometries and the interim teeth geometries.
 2. Theorthodontics virtual modeling system of claim 1, wherein each treatmentstep of the plurality of treatment steps in the virtual modeling filecomprises a maxillary arch data section and a mandibular arch datasection.
 3. The orthodontics virtual modeling system of claim 2, whereinthe maxillary arch data section and the mandibular arch data sectioneach comprise a respective geometry for each tooth of the teeth and arespective plurality of transformation vectors for each tooth of theteeth.
 4. The orthodontics virtual modeling system of claim 3, whereinthe respective geometry for each tooth of the teeth comprises a shapeand a position for the respective tooth.
 5. The orthodontics virtualmodeling system of claim 2, wherein the maxillary arch data sectioncomprises a maxillary arch transformation matrix for aligning amaxillary arch with a mandibular arch of the patient.
 6. Theorthodontics virtual modeling system of claim 5, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to: determine that the interim treatmentstep corresponds to the maxillary arch; and apply the maxillary archtransformation matrix on a 3D modeling renderer.
 7. The orthodonticsvirtual modeling system of claim 6, wherein the maxillary archtransformation matrix for defining movement of the teeth in the interimtreatment step is a 4×4 matrix.
 8. A method of displaying an orthodontictreatment plan for treating teeth of a patient from an orthodonticvirtual modeling file format, comprising: receiving, via processingcircuitry, a virtual modeling file including an orthodontic treatmentplan such that the virtual modeling file provides for display of all ofa plurality of treatment steps of the orthodontic treatment plan;receiving, via the processing circuitry, one or more data sections of afirst treatment step of the plurality of treatment steps of the virtualmodeling file; accessing, via the processing circuitry, gingivageometries and teeth geometries from the one or more data sections ofthe first treatment step; receiving, via the processing circuitry, oneor more data sections of an interim treatment step of the plurality oftreatment steps of the virtual modeling file, wherein the interimtreatment step is different than the first treatment step; accessing,via the processing circuitry, teeth transformation matrices and aplurality of gingiva transformation vectors for the interim treatmentstep from the one or more data sections of the interim treatment step,wherein the one or more data sections for each of the plurality oftreatment steps include a respective plurality of gingiva transformationvectors, and the plurality of gingiva transformation vectors include aset of 3D vectors defining a shape of the respective gingiva accordingto the interim treatment step, wherein a number of vectors in the set of3D vectors is proportional to a number of vertices in the gingivageometries; applying, via the processing circuitry, the teethtransformation matrices to the teeth geometries to obtain interim teethgeometries corresponding to the interim treatment step; applying, viathe processing circuitry, the gingiva transformation vectors to thegingiva geometries to obtain interim gingiva geometries corresponding tothe interim treatment step; and displaying, via the processingcircuitry, the interim treatment step based on rendering the interimgingiva geometries and the interim teeth geometries.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein each step of the plurality of treatment steps in thevirtual modeling file includes a maxillary arch data section and amandibular arch data section.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein themaxillary arch data section and the mandibular arch data section eachcomprise a respective geometry for each tooth of the teeth and arespective plurality of transformation vectors for each tooth of theteeth.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the respective geometry foreach tooth of the teeth comprises a shape and a position for therespective tooth.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the maxillary archdata section comprises a maxillary arch transformation matrix foraligning a maxillary arch with a mandibular arch of the patient.
 13. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storingcomputer-readable instructions that, when executed by a computer, causethe computer to perform a method of displaying an orthodontic treatmentplan for treating teeth of a patient from an orthodontic virtualmodeling file format, the method comprising: providing a virtualmodeling file including an orthodontic treatment plan such that encodedinformation of the virtual modeling file allows all of a plurality oftreatment steps of the orthodontic treatment plan to be displayed;uploading one or more data sections of a first treatment step of theplurality of treatment steps of the virtual modeling file, wherein theone or more data sections of the first treatment step include gingivageometries and teeth geometries; uploading one or more data sections ofan interim treatment step of the plurality of treatment steps of thevirtual modeling file, wherein the interim treatment step is differentthan the first treatment step, and wherein the one or more data sectionsof the interim treatment step include teeth transformation matrices anda plurality gingiva transformation vectors for the interim treatmentstep, wherein the one or more data sections for each of the plurality oftreatment steps include a respective plurality of gingiva transformationvectors, and the plurality of gingiva transformation vectors include aset of 3D vectors defining a shape of the respective gingiva accordingto the interim treatment step, wherein a number of vectors in the set of3D vectors is proportional to a number of vertices in the gingivageometries; and viewing the interim treatment step via a virtualrendering of interim gingiva geometries and interim teeth geometries ofthe interim step, wherein the interim teeth geometries are generatedthrough application of the teeth transformation matrices to the teethgeometries, and the interim gingiva geometries are generated throughapplication of the gingiva transformation vectors to the gingivageometries.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 13, wherein each treatment step of the plurality of treatmentsteps in the virtual modeling file includes a maxillary arch datasection and a mandibular arch data section.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the maxillary archdata section and the mandibular arch data section each comprise arespective geometry for each tooth of the teeth and a respectiveplurality of transformation vectors for each tooth of the teeth.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein therespective geometry for each tooth of the teeth comprises a shape and aposition for the respective tooth.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the maxillary archdata section comprises a maxillary arch transformation matrix foraligning a maxillary arch with a mandibular arch of the patient.